NERD Game Scores: Miles Mikolas Recon Opportunity

Devised originally in response to a challenge issued by viscount of the internet Rob Neyer, and expanded at the request of nobody, NERD scores represent an attempt to summarize in one number (and on a scale of 0-10) the likely aesthetic appeal or watchability, for the learned fan, of a player or team or game. Read more about the components of and formulae for NERD scores here.

Most Highly Rated Game
Houston at Texas | 20:05 ET
Jarred Cosart (100.2 IP, 106 xFIP-, 1.2 WAR) faces Miles Mikolas (5.1 IP, 107 xFIP-, 0.0 WAR). Because he most probably resides within that bubbling cauldron of freedom called the United States, the reader is at liberty to watch, for example, Jake Odorizzi and James Shields face their respective former teams simultaneously in Tampa Bay or Washington-right-hander Stephen Strasburg treat with undue cruelty the Orioles lineup. What this particular game offers, however, is the opportunity to perform invaluable reconnaissance on Texas right-hander Miles Mikolas — which 25-year-old recorded strikeout and walk rates of 20.0% and just 1.6%, respectively, in the PCL this season and apparently also possesses a fastball that sits at 92-93 mph.

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Texas Radio.

Three Brief Notes
Video: Miles Mikolas Season Debut
Here’s footage from Mikolas’s debut last Wednesday at Baltimore (box), during which start he recorded a 4:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 5.1 innings and (as indicated here) a fastball that touched 95 mph at times:

Regarding Today’s Free Game
Today’s free game features Baltimore at Washington, starts at 7:05pm ET, and can be accessed by means of this hyperlinked text.

Complete Schedule
Here’s the complete and very sortable table for all of today’s games. Pitching probables and game times aggregated from MLB.com and also the rest of the internet.

Away		SP	Tm.	Gm.	Tm.	SP		Home	Time
Chris Tillman	BAL	1	6	6	7	10	WAS	S. Strasburg	19:05
Mike Minor	ATL	6	7	4	3	0	NYN	D. Matsuzaka	19:10
Edwin Jackson	CHN	4	4	5	3	6	CIN	Mike Leake	19:10
Scott Carroll	CHA	0	2	1	3	2	BOS	Clay Buchholz	19:10
James Shields	KC	6	5	6	7	7	TB	Jake Odorizzi	19:10
Shane Greene*	NYA	6	3	5	6	5	CLE	Justin Masterson	19:10
Jarred Cosart	HOU	4	8	6	4	9	TEX	Miles Mikolas*	20:05
Cole Hamels	PHI	6	2	5	6	4	MIL	Marco Estrada	20:10
Charlie Morton	PIT	4	4	5	3	6	STL	Adam Wainwright	20:15
Ian Kennedy	SD	8	3	6	9	5	COL	Tyler Matzek	20:40
Tom Koehler	MIA	4	7	5	6	4	AZ	Chase Anderson	21:40
Ryan Vogelsong	SF	3	5	5	7	6	OAK	Jesse Chavez	22:05
J.A. Happ	TOR	4	7	4	6	3	LAA	Jered Weaver	22:05
Kevin Correia	MIN	0	3	4	5	8	SEA	Hisashi Iwakuma	22:10

To learn how Game NERD Scores are calculated, click here.
* = Fewer than 20 IP, NERD at discretion of very handsome author.